If you're weak at maths does that mean your thick?

fryup · 21-07-2016 10:58AM #1

Well does it?

i've heard it mentioned in conversations over the years

ohnonotgmail · 21-07-2016 10:59AM

I'm afraid so.

kerryked · 21-07-2016 11:01AM

how could da Vinci ever have painted that ceiling without knowing his 8 times tables?!?!

xabi · 21-07-2016 11:05AM

How many thick people do you know that are good at maths? Thought so, you have your answer.

Tefral · 21-07-2016 11:07AM

I've found that individuals with poor maths skills also have lower skills at deductive reasoning and I believe that's why people are called thick as a result.

BabyE · 21-07-2016 11:07AM

I don't know but our society overvalues maths because high aptitude at maths equals a high paying job

Winterlong · 21-07-2016 11:08AM

Depends on how you define thick. I can't spell for crap, have a terrible memory, bad pattern recognition - but am very good with numbers and logic.

If I worked in a newspaper they would think I was as thick as old porridge.
But if I work with numbers I do we very well.

Potatoeman · 21-07-2016 11:09AM

BabyE wrote: »

I don't know but our society overvalues maths because high aptitude at maths equals a high paying job

Do you not think it adds up?

Lu Tze · 21-07-2016 11:09AM

BabyE wrote: »

I don't know but our society overvalues maths because high aptitude at maths equals a high paying job

Those with low mathematical aptitude are happy, as they don't realise they are not in a high paid job.

21-07-2016 11:09AM

Denis O'Brien failed leaving cert maths. Then he repeated the Leaving and failed maths again. Is he thick? Or in a low-paid job? He sure isn't.
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/the-man-who-makes-millionaires-26126345.html

Mathematical ability is a great skill to have. Some people don't have it, but a lot of people just don't have the confidence to engage, because this stigma exists.

I was blessed with having a very good maths teacher for the leaving cert, who had done pass maths for her leaving cert. She studied computer science in University, and then discovered a love for mathematics. She was evangelical about mathematics, I developed a love for maths because of her and it shaped my career. Half the students in a class of 12 Higher level students got an A grade.

A good maths teacher is a blessing, a bad teacher can probably wreck your confidence for life.

kerryked · 21-07-2016 11:10AM

Potatoeman wrote: »

Do you not think it adds up?

He clearly can't count

:rolleyes:

xabi · 21-07-2016 11:11AM

I can do long division so good a math, but my england and gramar are way way gooder than mats, where do i fit in?

megaten · 21-07-2016 11:11AM

fryup wrote: »

Well does it?

i've heard it mentioned in conversations over the years

I dunno? It's hard to say. I was great at math's in school but I think I was just good at how math's was taught. A lot of it comes down to filling in the blanks of different formulas which I don't think takes a huge amount of intelligence.
I'm hopeless at applying maths to practical situations.

hatrickpatrick · 21-07-2016 11:12AM

I'm generally more likely to use knowing the difference between your and you're as a barometer of thickness :pac:

ohnonotgmail · 21-07-2016 11:13AM

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Denis O'Brien failed leaving cert maths. Then he repeated the Leaving and failed maths again. Is he thick? Or in a low-paid job? He sure isn't.
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/the-man-who-makes-millionaires-26126345.html

Mathematical ability is a great skill to have. Some people don't have it, but a lot of people just don't have the confidence to engage, because this stigma exists.

I was blessed with having a very good maths teacher for the leaving cert, who had done pass maths for her leaving cert. She studied computer science in University, and then discovered a love for mathematics. She was evangelical about mathematics, I developed a love for maths because of her and it shaped my career. Half the students in a class of 12 Higher level students got an A grade.

A good maths teacher is a blessing, a bad teacher can probably wreck your confidence for life.

his envelope stuffing skills more than compensate for any deficiency in his maths skills.

BabyE · 21-07-2016 11:13AM

The hard thing about maths is its so hard to know where to start to improve yourself. I did an Economics degree but avoided most of the maths based modules, bar the ones that were compulsory. I did foundation for the LC so how the **** I even got those exams I don't know. But yeah with a language you easily know the steps needed to become good at it, but with maths there isn't or doesn't seem to be a logical sequence to build upon, except for what the school system does, but the problem is with maths, all it takes is to miss a concept early on and then you will be forever stifled.

kerryked · 21-07-2016 11:14AM

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Denis O'Brien failed leaving cert maths. Then he repeated the Leaving and failed maths again. Is he thick? Or in a low-paid job? He sure isn't.
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/the-man-who-makes-millionaires-26126345.html

Mathematical ability is a great skill to have. Some people don't have it, but a lot of people just don't have the confidence to engage, because this stigma exists.

I was blessed with having a very good maths teacher for the leaving cert, who had done pass maths for her leaving cert. She studied computer science in University, and then discovered a love for mathematics. She was evangelical about mathematics, I developed a love for maths because of her and it shaped my career. Half the students in a class of 12 Higher level students got an A grade.

A good maths teacher is a blessing, a bad teacher can probably wreck your confidence for life.

Ah yes but...

Mr. CooL ICE · 21-07-2016 11:16AM

I'm great at maths but thick as sh1t. Your theories are invalid.

21-07-2016 11:16AM

kerryked wrote: »

Ah yes but...

Yeah but O'Brien failed Ordinary Level maths twice, not Math 55 at Harvard.

BabyE wrote: »

I did an Economics degree but avoided most of the maths based modules, bar the ones that were compulsory. I did foundation for the LC

Jaysus, that was brave. Even getting through the most rudimentary econometrics module with foundation maths must have been a challenge, well done for sticking with it.

redbel05 · 21-07-2016 11:20AM

It would be more accurate to say that people with a high aptitude for maths are not thick.

Being strong at maths (which is quite a broad subject area btw) is just another skill that comes easily to some and harder to others, but I believe the majority of people can make good progress with it, given the right teacher and lots of practice. A bit like most things in life tbh.

That being said, you would want to have a good reason not to be able to do basic adding and subtracting without a calculator.

failinis · 21-07-2016 11:25AM

I have dyscalculia, assumed to be from being born very premature.
I was made to feel like a stupid **** all the way through education which severely impacted my self esteem.
It is certainly a common judgement that it makes you thick, but I feel people will find another area to excel in, for me it is art and english.
If you have a monkey and a fish and the test is to climb a tree, thats how it is.

21-07-2016 11:26AM

Not at all.

Dyscalculia (dyslexia with Math) is an actual thing.

I struggle with the very basic of Maths sometimes. Always struggled with it in school and college and normally barely passed.

BabyE · 21-07-2016 11:27AM

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Yeah but O'Brien failed Ordinary Level maths twice, not Math 55 at Harvard.

Jaysus, that was brave. Even getting through the most rudimentary econometrics module with foundation maths must have been a challenge, well done for sticking with it.

Boy it was a struggle, I only did 'well' relatively speaking in one, a Microeconomics 2 module which I got a C- in, the rest were scraping by but it is what it is.

As you say the base I was coming in with made most of the econometics modules a real challenge, and my skills or lack of that make maths hard for me, made Statistics so so difficult, even though I 'understood'the concepts and studied, it just was so hard, but then something clicked and I got like a C plus in it, third time of asking haah.

kfallon · 21-07-2016 11:48AM

Can I have one from the Top please Carol and any other 5 please!

5rtytry56 · 21-07-2016 11:50AM

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

I'm afraid so.

@ fryup : if you can't "add it up" then why not try "join the dots". going into the children's book section of Easons should help: look for one of these books where you "join the dots": such puzzles are also common in the childrens comics - look for peppa pig. good luck OP..:):)

ohnonotgmail · 21-07-2016 12:19PM

5rtytry56 wrote: »

@ fryup : if you can't "add it up" then why not try "join the dots". going into the children's book section of Easons should help: look for one of these books where you "join the dots": such puzzles are also common in the childrens comics - look for peppa pig. good luck OP..:):)

what has your little rant have to do with my post?

HensVassal · 21-07-2016 12:32PM

Potatoeman wrote: »

Do you not think it adds up?

Go figure.

Jawgap · 21-07-2016 12:34PM

kerryked wrote: »

how could da Vinci ever have painted that ceiling without knowing his 8 times tables?!?!

.....not sure if this is serious or not?

....is mathematical inability linked to deficiencies in appreciating history

kerryked · 21-07-2016 12:36PM

Jawgap wrote: »

.....not sure if this is serious or not?

....is mathematical inability linked to deficiencies in appreciating history

Thoie · 21-07-2016 12:37PM

Dyscalculia, dyslexia and the occasional typo aside, I don't expect everyone to be able to do differential calculus, or write novels. If you leave school without the following skills I'll think you're of below average intelligence:

Realise that if it takes 3 people 3 hours to paint a wall, it won't take 6 people 6 hours to paint the same wall.
Understand that "could of" is incorrect.
Be aware of common homophones, and use the correct word in the correct place.
Figure out how to adapt a recipe that serves 4 people to cater for a different number of diners.
Work out how many tins of paint you'll need if that wall is 10m x 5m, and a tin of paint covers 30 square meters.
Be able to check if you were given the correct change in a shop.
If I say I'll meet you back here in an hour, that you can work out when that will be.

failinis · 21-07-2016 12:38PM

Jawgap wrote: »

.....not sure if this is serious or not?

....is mathematical inability linked to deficiencies in appreciating history

It's not about appreciating history, it is saying does an artist need maths to be able to paint - no.

However Da Vinci is a bad example as he excelled in many fields including maths
The whole Renaissance included introducing these "rules" of math to art

Course you can argue there are many examples of maths in arts, but not in terms that would help in a math exam!

If you're weak at maths does that mean your thick?

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